Treaty of Ancón
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The Treaty of Ancón was a
peace treaty A peace treaty is an agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually countries or governments, which formally ends a state of war between the parties. It is different from an armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring ...
signed by
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
and
Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...
on 20 October 1883, in Ancón, near
Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...
. It was intended to settle the two nations' remaining territorial differences at the conclusion of their involvement in the War of the Pacific and to stabilise post-bellum relations between them. Under the treaty's terms, Chile gained control over
Tarapacá San Lorenzo de Tarapacá, also known simply as Tarapacá, is a town in the region of the same name in Chile. History The town has likely been inhabited since the 12th century, when it formed part of the Inca trail. When Spanish explorer Diego d ...
. Chile was also to retain the conquered provinces of
Tacna Tacna was known for its mining industry; it had significant deposits of sodium nitrate and other resources. Its economic prosperity attracted a wave of immigrants from Italy. Today, their Italian Peruvian descendants live in the city and many of t ...
and Arica for ten years, after which their fate was to be decided by a plebiscite, which was never held.Egaña, Rafael (1900) ''The Tacna and Arica question. Historical antecedents.--Diplomatic action. Present state of the affair'' (translated from the Spanish edition by Edwin C. Reed) Barcelona Printing Office, Santiago, Chile, The Tacna–Arica question would only be settled in 1929, through the mediation of the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
under
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gr ...
. This treaty, known as the Treaty of Lima, ceded Arica to Chile, while Peru regained Tacna and received USD $6 million indemnity and other concessions.


Background

During the War of the Pacific and the subsequent Chilean occupation of Peru, a series of parallel governments were established. The Chilean occupying administration established a collaborationist government in La Magdalena headed by Francisco García Calderón in order to be able to represent the occupied country in peace negotiations, while
Nicolás de Piérola Jose Nicolás Baltasar Fernández de Piérola y Villena (known as "''El Califa''" ("The Caliph"); January 5, 1839 – June 23, 1913) was a Peruvian politician and Minister of Finance of Peru, Minister of Finance who served as the 23rd and 31 ...
's constitutional government settled in
Ayacucho Ayacucho (, qu, Ayak'uchu) is the capital city of Ayacucho Region and of Huamanga Province, Ayacucho Region, Peru. During the Inca Empire and Viceroyalty of Peru periods the city was known by the name of Huamanga (Quechua: Wamanga), and it c ...
after leaving Lima. Both governments disputed each other's legitimacy, with a third government headed by
Lizardo Montero Juan Lizardo Montero Flores (1832 in Piura, Peru – 1905) was a Peruvian soldier and politician who held the provisional Presidency of Peru from 1881 to 1883, replacing President Francisco García Calderón, during the Chilean occupation of Peru ...
establishing itself in
Arequipa Arequipa (; Aymara and qu, Ariqipa) is a city and capital of province and the eponymous department of Peru. It is the seat of the Constitutional Court of Peru and often dubbed the "legal capital of Peru". It is the second most populated city ...
and succeding García Calderón's government in 1883, after the latter's forced exile to
Valparaíso Valparaíso (; ) is a major city, seaport, naval base, and educational centre in the commune of Valparaíso, Chile. "Greater Valparaíso" is the second largest metropolitan area in the country. Valparaíso is located about northwest of Santiago ...
. A fourth government, headed by
Miguel Iglesias Miguel Iglesias Pino de Arce was born on 11 June 1830 in Cajamarca, Peru, and died on 7 November 1909 in Lima, Peru. He was a Peruvian soldier, general, and politician who served as the 26th President of Peru ( Regenerator President of the Repub ...
, succeded the Magdalena government in 1883 after being recognized by Chile, with both countries establishing the negotiations that would eventually lead to a final peace treaty. Iglesias, unlike the other heads of state, demanded peace with Chile at all costs, including the loss of territory. As a result,
Andrés Avelino Cáceres Andrés Avelino Cáceres Dorregaray (November 10, 1836 – October 10, 1923) served as the President of Peru two times during the 19th century, from 1886 to 1890 as the 27th President of Peru, and again from 1894 to 1895 as the 30th Preside ...
' troops attempted to capture Cajamarca, but did not succeed. Cáceres himself was defeated at the
Battle of Huamachuco The Battle of Huamachuco was fought on the 10 July 1883, and it was the last major battle of the War of the Pacific. The Chilean soldiers, led by Colonel Alejandro Gorostiaga, decisively defeated the Peruvian army commanded by General Andrés Av ...
on July 10, 1883.


Treaty

The treaty's contents mainly dealt with the restoration of peace between both countries, as well as the laws regarding commerce agreed upon by both countries before the war. Article 2 of the treaty ceded the territory of
Tarapacá San Lorenzo de Tarapacá, also known simply as Tarapacá, is a town in the region of the same name in Chile. History The town has likely been inhabited since the 12th century, when it formed part of the Inca trail. When Spanish explorer Diego d ...
to Chile unconditionally, and Article 13 demanded recognition of the validity of the Chilean administrative and judicial acts that occurred during the military occupation of Peru. The time period established to exchange of ratifications of the treaty was ordered to be within 160 days of the signing of the treaty. Article 3 of the treaty proved to be the most controversial, as it stipulated that the territory of the provinces of Arica and
Tacna Tacna was known for its mining industry; it had significant deposits of sodium nitrate and other resources. Its economic prosperity attracted a wave of immigrants from Italy. Today, their Italian Peruvian descendants live in the city and many of t ...
were to continue under Chilean administration for 10 years, after which a plebiscite would decide which country the inhabitants wanted to belong to. The country chosen by the plebiscite would then pay $10,000,000 to the other. The plebiscite was never held in the end, with the ''status quo'' remaining until 1929, when the Treaty of Lima was signed. Chilean historians claim that this article was a covert transfer of both provinces to Chile and intended to be handed over to
Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...
when peace was signed there. This claim is disputed by Peruvian historians, such as and Jorge Basadre. Articles 4 to 10 deal with the economic consequences of the change of ownership of guano and saltpeter deposits. Chile was to allocate 50% of the profits from the sale of guano from already known deposits to the payment of the Peruvian debt. Profits obtained from unknown deposits before the treaty would go entirely to Chile, this was valid for any form of sales contract. Peru and Chile had to agree on sales prices and amounts to prevent harmful competition, creditors had to have their securities qualified by the Chilean authorities and other debt securities would not be recognized. The would remain under Chilean administration and exploitation as long as there were exploitable guano deposits and 50% of the profits were to be delivered to Peru. Article 12 established arbitral tribunals that determined the compensation to be paid to Chilean citizens expelled from Peru whose assets had been seized at the beginning of the war.


Aftermath

Dissatisfaction with the treaty led to the
Peruvian Civil War of 1884–1885 The Peruvian civil war of 1884–1885 was an internal Peruvian conflict that resulted from Peru's defeat in the War of the Pacific. The '' casus belli'' was the Treaty of Ancón The Treaty of Ancón was a peace treaty signed by Chile and Peru o ...
, which overthrew Iglesias' government. On January 8, 1890, the Castellón-Elías protocol was signed, which handed Peru practically all the guano exploitation of Tarapacá, under the condition that it had to hand it over to the creditors. In exchange, the creditors recognized that the debt transferred to Chile for the occupation of the mortgaged deposits was limited to that indicated in the Treaty of Ancón. The Tacna–Arica situation began the
Chilean–Peruvian territorial dispute The Chilean–Peruvian territorial dispute is a territorial dispute between Chile and Peru that started in the aftermath of the War of the Pacific and ended significantly in 1929 with the signing of the Treaty of Lima and in 2014 with a ruling by ...
, which would only be solved in 1929 with the Treaty of Lima, with Tacna returning to Peru and Arica being ceded to Chile. One important provision in the treaty said that Chile could not cede sovereignty of former Peruvian territories to other nations without asking Peru first. The Chapter has been invoked once, during the Chilean proposal of 1975 that offered Bolivia sovereignty over some minor ports. The Peruvian government rejected the proposed land swap.


See also

* Bolivia–Chile peace treaty, 1904 * Treaty of Lima, 1929


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ancon, Treaty Of History of the foreign relations of Chile Chile–Peru treaties War of the Pacific Treaties involving territorial changes 1883 in Chile 1883 in Peru Boundary treaties Chile–Peru border 1883 treaties